Leakproof paper box and method of making the same



Dec. 8, 1925' E. W. LABOMBARDE LEAKPROOF PAPER BOX AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed April 10, 1922 EL EW LABuMBARnE. 5 Y A TTU/iA/EK PATENT ossics. I

ELIE W. LABOMBABDE, OF NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

LnAxrnoor rerun 380:: A D METHOD or MAKING THE SAME.

Application filed April 10, 1922. Serial No. 551,030.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, Ems W. LABOMBnRDE, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Nashua, in the count of I-Irllsborough and State of New Hamps lire, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements. 1n Leakproof Paper Boxes an Methods of Makin the Same, of which the following is as eci cation.

his invention relates to receptacles made of paper stock such as the kind largely used for the production of cartons and known as box board, and the said invention refers particularly to the manufacture of such boxes comprising receptacle and cover members which can be stored or shipped to users in fiat condition and then set up for use when desired.

One of the objects ofthe lnvention is to provide boxes of this character winch are substantiall leak-proof and therefore can be employe for containing material such as ice cream, butter or lard.

An important object of the inventlon is to enable completely waxed and therefore leakroof pa er boxes to be set up by users to W om sai boxes can be shipped in flat condition, and to enable them to be so set up without employin any adhesive. This enables the boxes to be employed for containin ice cream or other substances which are to e eaten, without liabilit of the taste of the substances to be impaire by adhesive material.

Another object is to provide a box which requires no outside moisture-proof wrapper to reserve the contents.

nether object is to rovide an improved method of making lea {-ti ht boxes which can be furnished as flat blanks and converted to receptacle form when wanted.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the improvements which I shall now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a lan view of one form of blank employed or making a box member.

Figure 2 represents a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1 on a larger scale.

Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 are perspective views illustrating steps in the conversion of a blank to set up condition for use;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 1 but illustratinga form of blank to be converted to provide a top or cover member of a box.

I brick which wil indicate perspective view of a commember of the box; but it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to any specitic size of box, nor to particular relative proportions as to depth, width and length.

As indicated in Figure 1, the blank for the bottom member of the box is cut and creased to form a central portion 12, side sections 13, 14, 15, and end sections l6, 1T, 18. Extending from each end of each section 13 is a tongue flap 19 the inner edge of which is bevelled as indicated at 19".

When the blank is cut and creased, the creases 15 between the sections 14, 15, are deeper than the others which only need to be such as to facilitate the folding. The result of the said deep or excessive creases 15 (see also Figure 2) is to form pronounced ribs pro'ecting from the under surface of the blank when first made in the locations stated, for a purpose explained hereinafter. All of the creases are so formed that the rooves which result from the creasing arc in that surface of the blank which is the inside surface of the box member when the blank is folded or set up to the condition indicated in Figures 5, (3 and 8.

ll am aware that boxes have heretofore been made from blanks having the general appearance of the blank but without the sectlons 14, 15, of the form shown herein, said blanks being converted to setup condition by folding the side sections, turning them upright, bending the corner or tongue'llups toward each other at each end, and then folding the end sections over the tongue flaps. Some of such boxes have been secured in set-up condition by the use of adhesive, and others have relied upon some form of interlocking members or abutlnents to hold the overlying portions in their relative positions; but none, so far as I am aware, have been so constructed that the blanks can be water-proofed while flat, and then set up and corner-locked, and present leak-tight corners.

Before waxing the blank, each marginal section 15 may be folded and adhesively sel cured to the adjoining section 14, and then these doubled sections are folded onto and adhesively secured to the sections 13, as shown by Figure 3 thereby forming side walls with portions which are triple-thick. Instead of last folding each section 15 onto section 14, both may be folded flat'onto section 13 and adhesivel secured thereto. As shown by Figure 4 this leaves a quite heavy ridge or rib 15*, owing to the fact, as before stated, that the creases for the lines at 15" are made more pronounced than-those which are indicated by the single dotted lines in Figure The blanks now, with folded ed es as described, are rendered waterproof y paraffining or waxin them. For some purposes they are provided on both surfaces with thick glossy coatings of wax as explained in my application filed March 2, 1922, Serial No. 540,604, or they may be hghtl coated or dr waxed in a manner suci as explaine in my application tiled Sept. 2, 1921, Serial No. 497,885.

This furnishes blanks having completely waxed surfaces and edges, ready to be stored or shipped flat to users, and said blanks, owing to their formation with interengageable portions as l'iereinbefore described, can be set up as wanted as presently described, and provide boxes employing no adhesive and yet fully capable of retaining set up and leak-proof condition.

The conversion of the. blanks to set-up form consists in folding the side walls upright, turning the tongue flaps 19 in and folding the sections 16, 17 over the tongue fla s with the sections 18 hearing on the centrfi or bottom portion 12, all as indicated in Figures 5 and 6. When the side wall sections 15, 14, have been previously doubled as indicated by comparing Figures 3 and 5, the ends of said sections 15, 14, present such a thick abutment for the end faces of the sections 17 that a firm reliable lock is provided that will prevent inward springing of the sections 17. And the extension 18, hearing on the portion 12 at an angle to the section 17, prevents the section 17 from bulging inwardly so that its. ends might withdraw from their locked ositions. -When folding is performed as in igures 4 and 6, the ends of the ribs or ridges 15 provide effective locking shoulders or abutments for the sections 17 Said ribs project in farther than the surfaces of the sections 14, 15, and serve the same purpose as the doubled or folded sections illustrated in Figure 5. As shown in Figure 6, the sections 18 increase the effectiveness of the look by extending, at their ends, under the lower ed es of the sections 15.

t will now be understoodthat there is a coaction between the complete wax coating and the formation of interengageable portions such as described, in that a box which is capable of holding ice cream without liabilit of lcakzwe is provided, and which box emp oys no adhesive and can be converted by the user from fiat to set up condition.

The reason for adhesively securing the folded marginal portionsof the blanks as indicated in Figures 3 and 4 is to ensure the retention of the inside sections, when set up (Figs. 5 and 6), in position to lock the end sections 17 and held them and the entire box member in set-u condition.

As it is diiiicu t to adhesively connect sections of waxed paper stock, I preferably perform the com lcte waxing of the blanks after folding an gluing the side wall sections, although for some purposes, where heavy wax coatings are not required I may lightl or dry wax the entire blan while fiat, t ion heat and drive in the wax on sections 15, 14, then fold said sections and adhesively secure them, and then, if desired, further wax the blank.

When the blanks are to carry such heavy coatings of wax as would cause deposits of wax at the ends of the folded sections 14, 15 to interfere with the final locking of section 17 SFigs. 5 and 6), I may wax the entire blan while flat, then remove wax from sections 14, 15, by cutting it off or by heat and pressure, then glue and fold said sections, and, if desirable, apply wax to those sections.

When the blanks are not so heavily coated that the abutting portions in the corners will be so completely closed as desired, a final step, after the blanks are converted to set up condition, is to supply a small quantity of melted wax to the vertical corners of the boxes. WVhen a medium thickness of wax coating is employed, tight corners are effected by subjecting the corners, after setting up, to a brief melting treatment.

The blank shown by Figure 7 is the same as that shown by Figure l excepting that holes 20 are formed in the side wall sections. When folded and set up, the member has side notches as shown by F igure 8. In Figures 1 and 7 the same reference numerals are employed because the only difference is that one is to form a bottom member and the other a top or cover member. In the latter, the side notches resultiiv from forming the holes in the blank enable the bottom member to be grasped by two fingers of one hand while the cover is being lifted. The blank shown by Figure 7 is so slightly larger than that shown by Figure 1 that the two set-up box members (Fig. 8), both of which are treated as described to be leak-tight, fit each other closely with the inner waxed surfaces of the cover member contacting with the outer waxed surfaces of the bottom member.

This contact of the inner waxed surface When so used, the cover member will preferably, after opening the box, be replaced underneath. That s the bottom member will be nested within the inverted cover member. Then the covermember reinforces the creamholding member, strengthening it and rendering it unlikely that any melted ice cream will be spilt upon ones clothing.

A box constructed as described requires no outside moisture-proof wrapper, as the two box members themselves carry the sealing material.

Owing to the fact that the blanks are completelyv formed before waxing, all edges of the blanks are necessarily coated with wax during the waxing operation which coats the surfaces thereof. For such uses as hereinbefore referred to, especially as containers for ice cream, it is essential that the material of the blanks shallbe comparatively thick to possess the strength necessary to reliably hold the contents of the containers. Ordinary paper. would not be serviceable.

-Economical material possessing sufficient strength is, referably, what is known as box board. Each material is quite porous and, the usual operation of dielng out the blanks leaves the edges somewhat rough. Said edges, if not waxed, would permit melted ice cream or-other more or less liquid contents of the box to work in and soften the edges of the box board, all of which edges are inside when the blank is converted to container form and therefore exposed to attack by the contents of the container. By waxing the material while in the form of blanks instead of cutting the blanks from previously waxed material, I am able to increase the durability of the boxes as containers for more or less liquid substances,

Of course'the boxes may be made in any size and of any proportion. Furthermore it is to be understood that the terms side and end are employed forconvenience of description only and are not to be understood as limitations'meaning that the box member;

is elongated. .It mi ht be square or the sha e be such that the sections 13, 14, 15, mig t be termed the end sections and the sections 16, 17, 18, then termed the side sections.

' Having 'now described my invention, I

claim 1. A completely waxed flat box member I blank having interfoldable marginal sectlons, the outer portions of two 01' said maresively secured.

2. A box member blank creased to provide a plurality of lines for folding four marginal portions to form double-thick walls, two of said foldable marginal portions having tongue flaps extending from the ends of the inner sections, and the outer sections of said two foldable marginal portions having creases of greater depth than the other creases .of the blank. 1

3. The method of makin boxes for con: taining ice cream and the h e,- consistin in folding wall portions of the blanks, t en waxing the blanks and finally converting the blanks to receptacle form.

4. The method of makin taining ice cream and the 11 e, consisting in folding'and adhesively connecting wall portions of the blanks, then waxlng the blanks while in flat condition and finally converting the blanks to receptacle form.

v5. The method of preparing flat boxboard blanks for conversion to moistureproof boxes, consisting in cutting and creasing the material to provide a central portion with interfoldable side and endsections, folding portions of the side sections inwardly, and then coating the blank with water-proof material while said side section portions are inwardly folded.

6. The. method of preparing flat box board blanks for conversion to moisture roof boxes, consisting in cuttmg and creasing the material to provide a central portion nal sections being. folded in flat and adboxes for con with inter-foldable side and end sections,

folding portions of the side sections inwardly and securing them in inward folding positions, andthen coating the blank with waterproof material while said side section portions are inwardly folded.

In testimony whereof I. have aflixed my signature.

ELIE W. LABOMBARDE. 

